


A silly gift

by sugarandspace



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Overworking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23365675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Magnus has had a very tiring day and Alec is unknowingly able to turn it better.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 16
Kudos: 225
Collections: Shadowhunters Fic-A-Thon 2020





	A silly gift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Magify](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magify/gifts).



> Written after this lovely prompt:
> 
> I'd love a (malec) one of them buying/making something for the other just because and giving it to them on a day that's been shit for the receiver without the giver having known that, so making the day suddenly really beautiful.

Being the head of the institute, Alec’s days consist mostly of making sure the institute stays running as well as trying to use his position to work towards a positive change in the Shadow World, and that leaves very little time for missions and patrols. But because Alec doesn’t want to lose his touch on the field, he makes sure to attend a mission or a few each month. After all, training is very different from real fighting and he needs to stay prepared.

Why Alec is on _this_ mission, he has no idea.

They’ve been out in the woods for two days. He, Jace, and a couple of younger Shadowhunters are tracking a demon that has been terrorizing people who have been camping in said woods. They have finally found a place where the demon is likely to hit next, but they have to wait for nightfall for it to appear so that they can kill it.

All in all the mission has been very boring and the only skills Alec has got to use were his tracking skills and the stamina needed for trekking in the wild for long periods of time.

They have made a little camp to the forest so they could eat while they wait for the sun to set. Only a few more hours before they can kill the demon and go back home.

Alec can’t wait to go back home. 

He remembers how he used to enjoy missions a lot more. There was a time when he preferred being on the field over being at home. Back then 'home' was the institute when now it is a loft in Brooklyn. Or to be more specific, home is the warlock who lives there with him. Alec knows it’s not the place he misses but the person who makes it home.

With his mind momentarily distracted by the thoughts of his husband, the knife he’s holding slips a little and instead of carving wood it nearly cuts his thumb.

“What are you doing?” Jace asks as he sits on the ground next to Alec.

Alec shows him the small figurine he has been carving from a piece of wood he found from the ground. Alec wasn’t very good at staying still and waiting, and he had needed something to do with his hands. With nothing else to do, he’d taken his knife and had started absentmindedly carving.

“You still make those?” Jace asks as he inspects the piece of wood.

“It’s not like I have anything else to do at the moment,” Alec replies. Jace has the right to sound surprised though because it’s been well over a year since Alec has last done this. He used to do it a lot more when he was younger which isn’t surprising considering that Lightwood children were rarely gifted toys and instead at 4-years-old Alec had gotten his first knife.

Alec keeps talking with Jace as they wait for the sunset, all the while keeping his hands busy by carving the small piece of wood.

-.-.-

Magnus bottles up the last potion order for the day and sends it to his client with a snap of his fingers. Immediately after that, he lets out a sigh of relief, his whole posture deflating as he lets the exhaustion crash in.

It’s been a busy day and Magnus has barely had time to sit down. On top of that, his clients had seemed more demanding than usual, and Magnus is pretty sure he is going to snap if anyone else is going to ask him for something today. 

Just as Magnus has magiced the spare ingredients to their correct places, he hears a knock on the door. He storms out of the apothecary, ready to spell whoever might be at the door demanding something from him.

Magnus opens the door, not even bothering to hide his scowl. It fades quickly though when he notices that it’s his husband behind the door.

“Alexander,” he greets and lets him in. 

“Hey Magnus,” Alec says and leans in to kiss Magnus briefly. “I forgot my key to my office.”

That explains why he knocked. Magnus waves his hand and conjures the key to his hand, giving it to Alec. 

“Thank you,” Alec says and smiles at him.

“I thought you weren’t coming back until late,” Magnus comments as he closes the door after Alec.

Alec looks at him funnily. “It’s past ten. I did send you a message informing you the mission was over and I was heading home.”

“Sorry,” Magnus says and grimaces a little. “I’ve been very busy today and I’m afraid I missed your message.”

“It’s okay,” Alec says. “Are you still busy?”

“No,” Magnus says and relief he feels from that small word should not feel so strong.

“Great,” Alec replies and his smile is infectious. “I’m going to shower and maybe we could watch some television for a while? Just relax and catch up before we go to bed?”

“That sounds good,” Magnus agrees. He’s missed Alec very much while he was gone and he’s not ready to go to bed before they’ve had the chance to spend some time together. Besides, Magnus still feels so wired from his hectic day he doubts he would be able to sleep even if he had Alec’s strong arms around him.

Alec takes his coat off and stops before he's able to hang it to one of the hooks by the door.

“I almost forgot,” he says as he takes something out of his pocket, keeping it hidden in his hand for now. “I know it’s silly and you don’t need to keep it but...”

Magnus furrows his eyebrows in silent question.

“What is it?” He asks and smiles lightly.

Alec uncurls his fingers, showing a small cat figurine on his palm.

“I remember you like cats,” Alec says and shrugs. Magnus looks up from the figurine to Alec’s face and notices a small blush on his cheeks.

“Have you made this?” Magnus asks as he studies the small object, taking it to his hand carefully. 

It’s well done, from its wide ears to its tail that curls against its back as the cat sits on Magnus’ palm. Yet it is obvious it was made with a rougher blade.

“Yeah,” Alec says and scratches the back of his neck. “The mission was really uneventful and I had to figure out something to do or it would have driven me insane. I used to make these when I was younger. I don’t have any old ones left but I think Izzy and Jace still have a couple in their rooms. But like I said, you don’t need to keep it. ”

“Of course I’m going to keep it,” Magnus says, closing his fingers around the cat and bringing it close to his chest, as if afraid Alec is going to regret giving it to Magnus and will take it away. He opens his palm again to look at the cat. Just the sight of the selfless gift makes Magnus’ chest feel warm.

“Thank you,” Magnus says as he looks back at Alec. “It is lovely.”

Magnus loves the shy smile Alec gets from his words, but he can’t resist the temptation to kiss his husband. After all, it has been two days since he’s last seen him.

“Go shower,” he says as they pull apart. “I’m going to pick a movie for us to watch.”

Alec does as he’s told, but Magnus takes a small detour before heading to the living room. He stops by his apothecary and finds a place from his table where the little cat will be safe from potion spillage but always at Magnus’ sight, reminding him that amongst all demands, there’s also someone who loves Magnus, and will always be able to cheer him up.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! :)
> 
> You can find me from [tumblr](https://sugarandspace.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/sugarandspace_)!


End file.
